The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 183 - 179: The Three Sea Dragon Kings Meet True Martial

Chapter 183: Chapter 179: The Three Sea Dragon Kings Meet True Martial

However, Ao Kuang and his brothers had recently not seen Ao Shun and couldn’t help but feel strange, so they made a trip to the North Sea.

After asking some people who knew about the situation, they learned that Ao Shun had gotten into a conflict with the Jiao Demon King from Flower-Fruit Mountain over Dragon Transformation Grass, then pursued him out of the sea, and likely met with more misfortune than fortune!

Ao Kuang and the other two brothers remained expressionless, as if they were not particularly incensed by Ao Shun’s demise.

"We shall report this to Great Emperor Zhenwu in heaven first, see how he arranges things, and then report to the Jade Emperor!" the Guangli Dragon King of the South Sea, Ao Qin, said.

Ao Kuang and Ao Run both nodded in agreement. Great Emperor Zhenwu was the protector of the Dragon Clan; now that a major problem had arisen within the clan, with one of the Four Seas Dragon Kings slain, they must report the matter to the Emperor. If they were to act rashly, it might displease the Emperor. In their eyes, Great Emperor Zhenwu was much more effective than the Jade Emperor.

The three Dragon Kings ascended to heaven together, entering through the Eastern Heavenly Gate and heading straight for the Northern Polar Zhenwu Demon-Subduing Divine Hall.

The three Dragon Kings held high positions and great power, and since all knew they were under Great Emperor Zhenwu’s command, their passage was naturally unimpeded all the way to the Demon-Subduing Great Hall.

"Please inform the Emperor, the brothers Ao Guang request an audience," Ao Kuang said to the Turtle General sitting below Great Emperor Zhenwu.

The Turtle and Snake Generals under Great Emperor Zhenwu, being Mysterious Turtle and Mysterious Snake, also possessed immense mana. Even though the Dragon Kings were nobility, they did not dare to show any disrespect.

The Turtle General conveyed the message into the great hall, and upon hearing it, the Emperor ordered the three Dragon Kings to enter.

"Your humble servants pay our respects to the Emperor!" The three Dragon Kings bowed down before Great Emperor Zhenwu.

Great Emperor Zhenwu, dressed in a black Taoist robe with his hair coiled high on his head, nodded and said, "There’s no need for formalities. Why do I not see Ao Shun?"

Ao Kuang replied, "We report to Your Majesty, our youngest brother Ao Shun has likely been harmed!"

The Emperor inquired, "What happened?"

Ao Kuang explained, "The youngest, due to a surge of death aura in the North Sea, was infected by the death aura, which could not be removed. Only by consuming Dragon Transformation Grass could he be cured. There was once a Demon King known as the Jiao Demon King who had planted a patch of Dragon Transformation Grass in his Water Palace. When he recently went back to harvest it, my youngest brother discovered it, leading to a dispute and a violent conflict. After pursuing him onto the shore, my brother has not returned. It is obvious that he has been slain by that Jiao Demon King."

Upon hearing this, the flicker of anger that had risen in Great Emperor Zhenwu immediately subsided as he nodded and said, "I see."

"We seek your judgment, Emperor!" pleaded Ao Kuang.

Great Emperor Zhenwu nodded and said, "Ao Shun’s affliction by the death aura is also a decree of fate. The emergence of death aura in the North Sea is due to an excess of powerful beings falling during the Middle Ancient Times, with the death aura being suppressed within Beiming, and only erupting out due to a loosening of the formation. Such treasures as the Dragon Transformation Grass are rare even in Ancient Times, and only those with destiny may claim it. Ao Shun’s insistence was akin to drawing cakes to allay hunger—a result of destiny."

Upon hearing Great Emperor Zhenwu speak of destiny in this matter, the three Dragon Kings realized he was intending to smooth things over. However, they did not understand why Great Emperor Zhenwu would want to shelter the Jiao Demon King. They had some inkling of the reason for protecting that Monkey King, Sun Wukong, but there seemed no reason to shelter this Jiao Demon King.

Ao Kuang was aware of the considerable background of Sun Wukong, who had been recognized long ago by the Southern Immortal Weng and a highly powerful Female Taoist who brought the decree of Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch, allowing him to take the Jingu Bang. He also had an inkling that Wusheng had an extraordinary origin as a disciple of a highly influential figure, and that individual had personally descended to instruct the Monkey King. He wondered what exactly was intended. Now that Sun Wukong was suppressed by Tathagata, no sign of that influential figure had been seen.

Ao Guang also had some knowledge of the backgrounds of the Demon Kings of Flower-Fruit Mountain, such as the Ox Demon King, who might have some connection with the Bajing Palace, and the Peng Demon King, who was a disciple of the Demon Teacher Kunpeng. Recently, the meeting of the Demon Teacher with Tathagata at Donghuang Spiritual Mountain was well known, and the Demon Emperor even almost managed to suppress Mahavairocana! These Demons and Monsters, despite appearing unruly, all had powerful figures looking out for them from the shadows, which is why Ao Guang hadn’t immediately mobilized his forces against Flower-Fruit Mountain after his youngest brother’s death. Should he have caused a commotion, it might have displeased someone, and if the situation escalated, even Great Emperor Zhenwu might not be able to protect them.

Ao Qin asked, "Given all this, with the North Sea now leaderless, how should we proceed?"

Great Emperor Zhenwu replied, "The North Sea should also be under the control of your Dragon Clan. In due time, I will report to the Jade Emperor that the three of you will jointly govern it."

Governing the sea territories is indeed a considerable advantage. With the demise of Ao Shun, the North Sea is left without a master, and thus the divine power of the North Sea Dragon King naturally lacks a guardian. Divided amongst the three remaining Dragon Kings, this divine power will coalesce and be absorbed, causing their mana to surge by an unknown degree.

Upon hearing this, Ao Kuang realized it was indeed the case, and understood that Great Emperor Zhenwu intended to broker peace. It seemed he did not wish for a conflict between them and the Demon King of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

At their level of cultivation, fraternal affection and such matters were no longer important. What mattered more was cultivation. With Ao Shun’s death, the three of them reaped great benefits. They divided the whole North Sea among themselves, which expanded the territories they governed and increased the divine power at their disposal, further advancing their mana! However, such feelings of satisfaction were something the three dared not show openly, to avoid being denounced. Yet in their hearts, they were secretly pleased with Ao Shun’s death. They felt his existence was a disgrace to the Dragon Clan. He had been wounded by the aura of death, looking less than human or ghostly, and was utterly repulsive to behold, devoid of any semblance of the Dragon Clan’s majestic aura.

Great Emperor Zhenwu said, "Go now. The North Sea cannot be without a master for a single day. Hurry and divide the sea territories, then coalesce the divine power. Only then can you effectively govern the North Sea."

Those places under Heavenly Court’s jurisdiction all require a divine official to coalesce the divine power and forge it into a seal. Only then can they gain control. For example, a Mountain God needs to gather the divine power from the mountain itself and forge it into a seal to govern the mountain and command all lesser deities under him.

Ao Kuang and his brothers bowed and said, "This prince takes his leave."

The three Dragon Kings promptly retreated, descending to the North Sea to begin dividing the territories. The South Sea was far too distant from the North Sea, so Ao Qin discussed dividing the territories with Ao Run.

Ao Run ceded one-third of the entire West Sea to Ao Qin, and then he occupied two-thirds of the North Sea. In this way, many troubles were avoided.

Since the West Sea was near West Cow He State and was quite inconvenient to govern, Ao Run did not dare to assert authority over the Buddhists there, let alone attempt it. To trade a portion of the West Sea for governance over the North Sea was too favorable a deal to decline. Ao Qin didn’t truly wish to govern the former but only aimed to coalesce divine power to enhance his cultivation, having no time to oversee those Buddhists. He wouldn’t dare to even if he could. Only with heightened mana could he summon wind and call rain.

The sea territories under the Dragon Kings’ control included not only the sea itself but also the rivers such as the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, which were now under Ao Kuang’s command. This is why his mana was cultivated to such impressive heights. However, further inland was a different story. Large lakes like Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake already had Lake Gods in firm control, making any attempts by them to claim these lands would lead to significant losses. Therefore, they were content with possessing some inland waters and were not too greedy. Controlling all the water domains of the world would be delightful but was quite unrealistic.

After the three Dragon Kings left, Great Emperor Zhenwu sighed and said, "Indeed, I had foreseen that trouble would arise from giving the Jiao Demon King the Dragon Transformation Grass. I did not expect Ao Shun to be the one to meet his fate."

The emergence of the Dragon Transformation Grass inevitably heralds the death of a dragon, a rule established since ancient times by the Heavenly Dao, though unknown to the mortals.

"Great Emperor, I just checked, and your disciple is extraordinary. He assimilated the fate of Candle Nine Yin and can transform into a Candle Dragon by imitating heaven and earth. It seems he used the Candle Dragon’s Eye to kill the Guangze Dragon King of the North Sea," She Jiang Jun reported as he entered the great hall and quickly informed Great Emperor Zhenwu.

Great Emperor Zhenwu replied, "Speaking of which, he can hardly be considered my disciple. I merely transmitted two mental methods to him in a dream and indirectly guided him to several secret realms from ancient times. However, he did indeed make me proud by cultivating to such a degree, even transforming into a True Dragon through the Dragon Transformation Grass and assimilating the fate of the Candle Dragon. It seems this move of mine has been the right one. Sacrificing a North Sea Dragon King to cultivate a Demon King capable of becoming a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal is a worthy trade, no matter how you look at it."

She Jiang Jun cautiously said, "I just wonder if the other three Dragon Kings will harbor any ulterior motives upon learning of this?"

Great Emperor Zhenwu couldn’t help but scoff, "What ulterior motives could they have? Honestly, they would probably prefer if all of their brothers died, leaving them to govern all the water domains. By doing so, they might even achieve the same status as Ying Long. But these are not the ancient times, and all deities maintain an ordered structure. Ao Kuang’s ambitions led him to expel the River God and seize control of the Yangtze River and Yellow River, even aiming for Dongting. But how could it be that easy?"

Turtle General said, "With so many water domains in the Four Great Continents, controlling each one individually is extremely difficult. Although Ao Kuang is ambitious, he knows when to be content, seizing the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers but not being overly greedy afterward. He does understand that insatiable greed can lead to one’s downfall."

Great Emperor Zhenwu chuckled coldly, "Dare he? Even the Jade Emperor would not tolerate him!"

She Jiang Jun asked, "Great Emperor, now that many esteemed figures of Heavenly Court are attending Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch’s lecture at Jade Void Palace, why do you not go?"

Great Emperor Zhenwu sighed, "Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch is lecturing on the Primordial Dao Fruit, and naturally, I would like to attend. But I foresaw the emergence of the Dragon Transformation Grass and that someone was fated to face calamity, so I waited here to see who it would be. Now that I know the outcome, it is time for me to go to Jade Void Palace for the lecture."

Many of high authority in the Heavenly Court, including many esteemed Loose Cultivators from the mortal world, were listening to the lecture at Jade Void Palace. Great Emperor Zhenwu had predicted that the Dragon Transformation Grass destined for the Jiao Demon King would emerge, inevitably spelling disaster for a dragon, hence he waited here for news, to see who would meet their fate. He had nurtured the Jiao Demon King at the arrangement of the Three Pure Ones, acting in accordance with the Heavenly Dao. He transmitted cultivating techniques and pointed out secret realms, allowing his growth. If he could not protect the Dragon Transformation Grass and was killed, then it was his destiny.

Fortunately, it was the Jiao Demon King who killed Ao Shun, which put Great Emperor Zhenwu’s mind at ease.

After having Turtle General draft a memorial decree, he personally sealed it, and then dispatched two generals to deliver it to the Jade Emperor. Afterward, he proceeded to Jade Void Palace to listen to the lecture on the Primordial Dao Fruit.

To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the following Chapters. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please cast your recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)